Garment Parts, Garment Incorporating Such A Garment Part And Method Of Manufacturing Same

ABSTRACT

A brassiere pad ( 100 ) is disclosed which includes an outer layer ( 102 ) and an inner layer ( 104 ) fixedly engaged with each other. The outer layer and the inner layer are separate from each other at or along at least one peripheral portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/907,299 filed on 31 May 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a garment part, such as (but not limited to) a brassiere pad, a garment incorporating at least one such garment part, and a method of manufacturing such garment part and garment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional brassieres usually incorporate normal wire casing or wire channel attached to a brassiere pad. Such are invariably visible, affecting both the appearance of the brassiere garment and comfort to the wearer. In addition, several other garment parts (such as shoulder straps, gore and wing panels) are also attached to the pad via an overlapped or back-out structure. It is found in practice that the seams are thick and the surfaces are not smooth. The raised edges at or adjacent the connection points further negatively affect the comfort of the wearer.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a garment part, a garment incorporating at least one such garment part, a method of manufacturing the garment part, and a method of manufacturing the garment in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated or at least to provide a useful alternative to the trade and public.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a garment part including a first garment part layer and a second garment part layer fixedly engaged with each other, wherein said first garment part layer and said second garment part layer are separate from each other at or along at least one peripheral portion thereof.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a garment including at least a garment part fixedly engaged with at least one garment component, wherein said garment part includes a first garment part layer and a second garment part layer fixedly engaged with each other, wherein said first garment part layer and said second garment part layer are separate from each other at or along at least one peripheral portion thereof.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a garment part, including steps (a) providing a first garment part layer and a second garment part layer, and (b) fixedly engaging said first garment part layer with said second garment part layer and forming at least one opening at or along a peripheral portion thereof.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a garment, including steps (a) providing a first garment part layer and a second garment part layer, (b) fixedly engaging said first garment part layer with said second garment part layer and forming at least one opening at or along a peripheral portion thereof, (d) providing a garment component, and (e) positioning and fixedly engaging at least part of said garment component in said opening between said first garment part layer and said second garment part layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a partial front view of a prior art brassiere incorporating a conventional brassiere pad;

FIG. 1B is a further view of a part of the brassiere shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a partial back view of the brassiere shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2B is a further view of a part of the brassiere shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of the brassiere shown in FIG. 1A, with a piece of cup outer fabric;

FIG. 4A is a partial front view of a further prior art brassiere incorporating another conventional brassiere pad;

FIG. 4B is a further view of a part of the brassiere shown in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is a partial back view of the brassiere shown in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5B is a further view of a part of the brassiere shown in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of the brassiere shown in FIG. 4A, with a piece of cup outer fabric;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a brassiere pad according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the brassiere pad shown in FIG. 7, showing two openings;

FIG. 9 shows a first layer of precursor material and a second layer of precursor material for making the brassiere pad shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 shows a first method of manufacturing the brassiere pad shown in FIG. 7 by firstly molding the first layer of the precursor material;

FIG. 11 shows molding of the second layer the of precursor material;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the two layers of precursor material after molding;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the first layer of precursor material applied with a layer of adhesive material;

FIG. 14 shows lamination of the two molded first and second layers of precursor material;

FIG. 15 shows a second method of manufacturing the brassiere pad shown in FIG. 7 by firstly providing a fabric layer between the first layer of precursor material and the second layer of precursor material, and applying a layer of adhesive material on the second layer of precursor material;

FIG. 16 shows pressing of the first and second layers of precursor material shown in FIG. 15 to form a laminated layer;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the laminated layer after pressing in FIG. 14 or FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 shows a brassiere pad cut out from the laminated layer shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a front view of a brassiere formed of two brassiere pads according to the present invention and shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 20 is a back view of the brassiere shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a tape for use as a shoulder strap in a brassiere according to the present invention;

FIG. 22A is a semi-finished double-layered wing panel for use in a brassiere according to the present invention;

FIG. 22B is a semi-finished single-layered wing panel for use in a brassiere according to the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a wire casing with a wire for use in a brassiere according to the present invention;

FIG. 24A is a partial front view of a brassiere according to the present invention;

FIG. 24B is a further view of a part of the brassiere shown in FIG. 24A;

FIG. 25A is a partial back view of the brassiere shown in FIG. 24A;

FIG. 25B is a further view of a part of the brassiere shown in FIG. 25A; and

FIG. 26 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of the brassiere shown in FIG. 24A, with a piece of cup outer fabric.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring firstly to FIGS. 1A to 3, these figures show various partial views of a first conventional brassiere 10 with a conventional brassiere pad 12, a shoulder strap 14, a gore 16, a wing panel 18, and a wire casing 20. As shown more clearly in FIG. 3, the wing panel 18, the shoulder strap 14, the wire casing 20 and the gore 16 (though not shown in FIG. 3) are all attached (e.g. by stitching or heat lamination) to an inner side of the brassiere pad 12. A piece of cup outer fabric 22 is attached to an outer surface of the brassiere pad 12 and secured on one side between the brassiere pad 12 and the wing panel 18 and on another side between the brassiere pad 12 and the shoulder strap 14. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a raised edge 24 of the brassiere pad 12 over the shoulder strap 14 and a raised edge 26 of the brassiere pad 12 over the wing panel 18 may show on an outer garment worn over the brassiere 10 and thus affect the appearance of the outer garment. On the other hand, and as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a raised edge 28 of the shoulder strap 14 and a raised edge 30 of the wire casing 20 will bring discomfort to the wearer.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A to 6, these figures show various partial views of a second convention brassiere 50 with another conventional brassiere pad 52, a shoulder strap 54, a gore 56, a wing panel 58, and a wire 60 encased within the brassiere pad 52. As shown more clearly in FIG. 6, the wing panel 58, the shoulder strap 54 and the gore 56 (though not shown in FIG. 6) are all attached (e.g. by stitching or heat lamination) to an inner side of the brassiere pad 52. A piece of cup outer fabric 62 is attached to an outer surface of the brassiere pad 52 and secured on one side within a over-turned end of the wing panel 58 and on another side between the brassiere pad 52 and the shoulder strap 54. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a raised edge 64 of the brassiere pad 52 over the shoulder strap 54 and a raised edge 66 of the brassiere pad 52 over the wing panel 58 may show on an outer garment worn over the brassiere 50 and thus affect the appearance of the outer garment. On the other hand, and as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a step 66 of the shoulder strap 54 over the brassiere pad 52 and a step 68 of the wing panel 58 will bring discomfort to the wearer.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a brassiere pad according to an embodiment of the present invention, generally designated as 100. The brassiere pad 100 includes an outer layer 102 and an inner layer 104 fixedly engaged with each other, except along a first peripheral portion 106 and a second peripheral portion 108 at which the outer layer 102 and the inner layer 104 are separate from each other to form two openings.

The outer layer 102 is made from a first layer of precursor material 110; and the inner layer 104 is made from a second layer of precursor material 112, both shown in FIG. 9. The first layer of precursor material 110 is made of a piece of fabric material 114 and a piece of foam material 116 laminated together by an adhesive and/or heat lamination. Similarly, the second layer of precursor material 112 is made of a piece of fabric material 118 and a piece of foam material 120 laminated together by an adhesive and/or heat lamination.

FIGS. 10 to 14 show a first method of manufacturing the brassiere pad 100 according to the present invention from the first layer of precursor material 110 and the second layer of precursor material 112. According to this method, and as shown in FIG. 10, the first layer of precursor material 110 is placed between an upper mold half 122 and a lower mold half 124, with the piece of fabric material 114 facing the upper mold half 122 and the piece of foam material 116 facing the lower mold half 124. The two mold halves 122, 124 are then brought towards each other to mold the first layer of precursor material 110 (by pressure and preferably by heat as well) into a cup shape, as shown in FIG. 12.

Similarly, and as shown in FIG. 11, the second layer of precursor material 112 is placed between the upper mold half 122 and the lower mold half 124, with the piece of fabric material 118 facing the lower mold half 124 and the piece of foam material 120 facing the upper mold half 122. The two mold halves 122, 124 are then brought towards each other to mold the second layer of precursor material 112 (by pressure and preferably by heat as well) into a cup shape, as shown in FIG. 12.

As shown in FIG. 13, an adhesive material 126 is applied to part of the exposed major surface of the piece of foam material 116 of the first layer of precursor material 110 after molding. As shown in FIG. 14, the molded first layer of precursor material 110 (with the adhesive material 126) and the molded second layer of precursor material 112 are then placed between the upper mold half 122 and the lower mold half 124 with the respective pieces of foam material 116, 120 directly facing each other. At least a layer of fabric material 128 is positioned between the molded first layer of precursor material 110 and the molded second layer of precursor material 112. The two mold halves 122, 124 are then brought towards each other to laminate the molded first layer of precursor material 110 and the molded second layer of precursor material 112 (by pressure and preferably by heat as well) to form laminated layers 130 as shown in FIG. 17, with at least one (such as two) delaminated area 132. Although this method has been discussed in the context in which an adhesive material 126 is applied to part of the exposed major surface of the piece of foam material 116 of the first layer of precursor material 110 after molding, it is equally possible to apply an adhesive material to part of the exposed major surface of the piece of foam material 120 of the second layer of precursor material 112 after molding.

As an alternative to the method discussed above and illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 14, it is possible, and as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, to position the first layer of precursor material 110 above the second layer of precursor material 112, with at least a layer of fabric material 134 there-between. An adhesive material 126 is applied to part of the exposed major surface of the piece of foam material of the second layer of precursor material 112. The first layer of precursor material 110 and the second layer of precursor material 112 are then engaged with each other and placed between the two mold halves 122, 124. The two mold halves 122, 124 are then brought towards each other to laminate the first layer of precursor material 110 and the second layer of precursor material 112 (by pressure and preferably by heat as well) to form laminated layers 130 as shown in FIG. 17, with at least one (such as two) delaminated area 132. Again, it is envisaged that an adhesive material may be applied to part of the exposed major surface of the piece of foam material 116 of the first layer of precursor material 110.

Two brassiere pads 100 (of which one is shown in FIG. 18) are cut out from the laminated layers 130, in which the first layer of precursor material 110 and the second layer of precursor material 112 are fixedly engaged with each other, except along the first peripheral portion 106 and the second peripheral portion 108 at which the outer layer 102 and the inner layer 104 are separate from each other to form two openings.

FIGS. 19 and 20 show, respectively, a front view and a rear view of a brassiere (generally designated as 135) incorporating two of the brassiere pads 100 according to this invention. Various brassiere components may be attached (e.g. by stitching or heat lamination) to the brassiere pads 100 to form the brassiere 135. FIG. 21 shows a shoulder strap 136 which may be fixedly engaged with and sandwiched at the open first peripheral portion 106 between the outer layer 102 and the inner layer 104. A double-layered wing panel 138 a (as shown in FIG. 22A) with an elastic band 140 a may be fixedly engaged with and sandwiched at another open peripheral portion between the outer layer 102 and the inner layer 104. Of course, as an alternative, a single-layered wing panel 138 b (as shown in FIG. 22B) with an elastic band 140 b may be fixedly engaged with and sandwiched at another open peripheral portion between the outer layer 102 and the inner layer 104. Turning to FIG. 23, a wire casing 142 inserted with a wire may be fixedly engaged with and sandwiched at the open second peripheral portion 108 between the outer layer 102 and the inner layer 104. The thickness of the wire casing 142 is around 1.2 mm to 2.5 mm.

FIGS. 24A to 26 show various views of the brassiere 135 incorporating the brassiere pad 100 according to the present invention. It can be seen that:

(a) the wing panel 138 a/138 b is fixedly engaged with the brassiere pad 100 at 152 by being sandwiched between the outer layer 102 and the inner layer 104 of the brassiere pad 100;

(b) the shoulder strap 136 is fixedly engaged with the brassiere pad 100 at 154 by being sandwiched between the outer layer 102 and the inner layer 104 of the brassiere pad 100;

(c) the wire casing 142 is fixedly engaged with the brassiere pad 100 by being sandwiched between the outer layer 102 and the inner layer 104 of the brassiere pad 100; and

(d) a gore 146 is fixedly engaged with the brassiere pad 100 by being sandwiched between the outer layer 102 and the inner layer 104 of the brassiere pad 100.

As shown in FIG. 26, a piece of cup outer fabric 148 is attached to an outer surface of the brassiere pad 100 and secured on one side between the outer layer of the brassiere pad 100 and the wing panel 138 a/138 b and on another side between the brassiere pad 100 and the shoulder strap 136.

After prolong use of the conventional brassieres, the wire can cause pressure, possible indentations around the bust root and pain to the wearers. However, in a brassiere 135 according to the present invention, the wire casing 142 is enclosed within the brassiere pad 100, thus reducing the pressure and enhancing comfort to the wearers. In addition, although both a conventional encased-wire brassiere and the brassiere 135 according to the present invention include encased wire construction, their wire placements are different. For a conventional encased-wire brassiere, the distance between the wire and the edge of the brassiere pad is around 8 mm to 12 mm, whereas for the brassiere 135 according to the present invention, the wire can be placed such that it follows closely the edge of the brassiere pad 100 like in traditional brassieres. The brassiere pad 100 of the present invention can touch the wearer's breast and provide more comfort to the wearer.

It should be understood that the above only illustrates examples whereby the present invention may be carried out, and that various modifications and/or alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, although the invention has thus far been described in the context in which a garment incorporating such a garment part is a brassiere, it is envisaged that the garment may be lingerie, sports bra or control garments.

It should also be understood that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any appropriate sub-combinations. 

1. A garment part comprising a first garment part layer and a second garment part layer fixedly engaged with each other, wherein said first garment part layer and said second garment part layer are separate from each other at or along at least one peripheral portion thereof.
 2. The garment part of claim 1 wherein said first garment part layer includes a first fabric layer and a first foam layer and said second garment part layer includes a second fabric layer and a second foam layer.
 3. The garment part of claim 2 wherein at least part of said first foam layer of said first garment part layer and at least part of said second foam layer of said second garment part layer are fixedly engaged with and in contact with each other.
 4. The garment part of claim 1 wherein said garment part comprises a brassiere pad.
 5. The garment including at least a garment part according to claim 1 fixedly engaged with at least one garment component.
 6. The garment according to claim 5 wherein at least part of said garment component is received between said first garment part layer and said second garment part layer at or along said peripheral portion.
 7. The garment according to claim 6 wherein at least part of said garment component is received between said first foam layer of said first garment part layer and said second foam layer of said second garment part layer at or along said peripheral portion.
 8. The garment according to claim 4 wherein said at least one garment component includes at least one of a shoulder strap, a gore member, a wing member or a wire member.
 9. The garment according to claim 8 wherein said wing member is a single-layer wing member or a multi-layer wing panel.
 10. The garment according to claim 8 wherein said wire member is encased within a wire casing.
 11. The garment according to claim 5 wherein said garment is a brassiere, lingerie, sports bra or control garment.
 12. A method of manufacturing a garment part, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a first garment part layer and a second garment part layer, and (b) fixedly engaging said first garment part layer with said second garment part layer and forming at least one opening at or along a peripheral portion thereof.
 13. The method according to claim 12 wherein said first garment part layer includes a first fabric layer and a first foam layer and said second garment part layer includes a second fabric layer and a second foam layer, and wherein at least part of said first foam layer of said first garment part layer and at least part of said second foam layer of said second garment part layer are fixedly engaged with and in contact with each other.
 14. The method according to claim 12 wherein said garment part comprises a brassiere pad.
 15. A method of manufacturing a garment, comprising the steps of: (c) manufacturing a garment part according to claim 12, (d) providing a garment component, and (e) positioning and fixedly engaging at least part of said garment component in said opening between said first garment part layer and said second garment part layer.
 16. The method according to claim 15 wherein, in said step (e), said at least part of said garment component is fixedly engaged with and sandwiched between a first foam layer of said first garment part and a second foam layer of said second garment part.
 17. The method according to claim 15 wherein, in said step (e), said at least part of said garment component is fixedly engaged with and between said first garment part layer and said second garment part layer along said peripheral portion by stitching, heat lamination, adhesion or a combination thereof.
 18. The method according to claim 15 wherein said at least one garment component includes at least one of a shoulder strap, a gore member, a wing member or a wire member.
 19. A method according to claim 18 wherein said garment part includes at least a first, second, third and fourth openings, further comprising the steps of: (f) positioning and fixedly engaging at least part of a shoulder strap in said first opening, (g) positioning and fixedly engaging at least part of a gore member in said second opening, (h) positioning and fixedly engaging at least part of a wing member in said third opening, and (i) positioning and fixedly engaging at least part of a wire member in said fourth opening.
 20. The method according to claim 15 wherein said garment comprises a brassiere, lingerie, sports bra or control garment. 